Simple Deep Fried Bitter Gourd Recipe -Vegetarian

Bitter gourd (scientific name, Momordica charantia, Chinese: 苦瓜, Japanese, Goya) is an edible bitter vegetable. It is well know for its’ medicinal value such as stimulating digestion, increase insulin sensitivity, might be an effective treatment for HIV and some species have anti Malaria properties.
However the red arils of the seed is said to be poisonous to children and I was told that it is not a suitable food for pregnant women.
I learned prepare this Indian style fried bitter gourd from Sonia’s blog. Deep fried bitter gourd is one of my favorite dishes whenever I eat at Indian restaurants. It is a must have for me and I found that it goes along well with okra curry. Sometimes I would also eat them with potato masala or just with yogurt. I just love the crispy and aromatic fried bitter gourd. Check out this wonderful Indian recipe!

Ingredients
Bitter gourd, 1 small size, sliced thinly
Chilli powder, 1 table spoons, more if you want it to be spicier!
Rice Flour, 2 table spoons
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for deep frying

Marinade the bitter gourd slices with chilli powder, rice flour and salt. Heat up wok and add in vegetable oil for deep frying. Turn the heat to medium and fry until the bitter gourd turned crispy and brown in colour. Serve while still hot or else it will lose its’ crispiness.

Vegetarian Organic Bihun (Rice Vermicelli) in Fragrant Gravy Recipe

This is a very versatile recipe and it is a very suitable meal at anytime, no matter if it is a hot or cold day! I never grew tired of eating bihun (rice vermicelli) and organic bihun is full of natural fibers. No bleach is used to in organic bihun, which explain its brown appearance. Stay healthy and eat nutritious organic bihun!

Ingredients
Organic Bihun (Rice Vermicelli), 1 rice bowl, soak in water until soft
Soya Sauce, 2 table spoons
Dark Soya Sauce, ½ teaspoon
Vegetarian Oyster sauce, 1 table spoon
Shallots (optional), 3 pcs, slice and deep fried until crispy
Sesame oil, 1 teaspoon
A little corn starch mix with water
Vegetable oil, 1 table spoon
Eggs (optional), 1 pc
Salt to taste

Heat up wok and add in a little vegetable oil. Put in the bihun, soya sauce, dark soya sauce and vegetarian oyster sauce. Fry until it has nice aroma, then add in the eggs and sesame oil. Stir fry for a short while or until egg is cooked. Add a little water, enough to cover all the bihun. Bring to a boil, add salt to taste and thicken the gravy with corn starch water mixture. Garnish with lettuce and crispy shallots before serving!

Quickie Baked Vegan Tofu with Cheese and Thyme Recipe

I love the aroma of freshly baked cheese. In order to create an East meets West recipe, I used tofu with cheese and western popular herb such as thyme. Baking saves me some time when I am preparing dinner for my family. I just need to set the timer in the oven and the dish would be ready by the time I finish cooking other things else. This dish would make a complete meal for the family because it loaded in protein and greens as well. For carbohydrate, you can eat these tofu dish with steam unpolished rice.
Check out my Quickie Vegan Tofu Cheese and Thyme Recipe.

Ingredients
Soft Tofu, 1 large piece
Vegan Cheese (you can use normal cheese, if you are not a full vegan), enough to cover the tofu
Thyme, 1 teaspoon
Celery, cut into 3” length
Tomato, 1 pc, cut onto four
Soya sauce, 1 table spoon

Arrange all the ingredients in the baking tray. Add a little water. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes at 200 Deg C. Serve with steamed rice.

Vegan Steam Taukan with Wolfberries (Kei Chi, Lycium Barbarum) –Simple Vegan Recipe

Taukan is wet bean curd that is available in most vegetarian food outlet. There are many ways to cook this versatile bean curd and it has a nice texture too. I tried this steam taukan dish which is rather easy and quick to prepare. Wolfberry has antioxidant properties and is known to be beneficial to the eyesight.
Here is my simple Steam Taukan with Wolfberries recipe.

Ingredients
Taukan, 5 to 6 pcs
Chinese Rice wine, 1 teaspoon
Light soya sauce, 2 table spoons
Kei Chi (wolf berries), 1 table spoon


Arrange taukan in a steaming tray or plate. Add Chinese Rice wine, light soya sauce and kei chi. Steam in high heat for 20 minutes. Serve with steamed rice.

Vegetarian Stir Fried Lotus Roots with Celery and Cauliflower Recipe- Chinese Style

The crunchy texture of young lotus roots is simply amazing. Lotus roots with celery and cauliflower make a good mix in any dishes. I combine these wonderful vegetables and made a vegetarian dish out of them. Here is my Vegetarian Stir Fried Lotus Roots with Celery and Cauliflower recipe.

Ingredients
Young Lotus roots, 6 inches in length, cut vertically
Celery, 2 stalks, cut into thick slices
Cauliflowers, about the size of a fist, clean and cut into bite sizes
Carrot, 10 to 15 slices
Garlic, 3 pcs, chopped finely
Sesame oil, ½ teaspoon
Vegetarian oyster sauce, 1 table spoon
Soya sauce, 1 table spoon
Salt to taste
Corn flour mix with a little water to thicken the gravy
Shou shing chiew, (Chinese cooking wine, optional), 1 teaspoon

Heat up wok and put in 2 teaspoon of vegetable oil and sauteed garlic until fragrant. Put in the lotus roots, carrots and cauliflower. Add in sesame oil, vegetarian oyster sauce, and soya sauce and shou shing chiew. Put in the celery and a little water. Add corn flour mixed with water to thicken the gravy. Add salt to taste. Serve with steamed rice.

Simple Vegetarian Stir Fried French Beans Recipe – Chinese Style

My kids love to eat French Beans (Scientific Name, Phaseolus Vulgaris) which is relatively easy to cook. Somehow, it is easier to get kids to eat French Beans compared to other type of green vegetables. Green French beans are full of vitamin C.
I normally stir fried them in Chinese wok.
Here is my simple stir fried French Beans recipe.

Ingredients
French Beans, 10 pcs, cut into thin strips or one inch length
Garlic, 3 pcs, chopped finely
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil, 1 table spoon

Heat up wok and put in the vegetable oil. Add in the garlic and fry until fragrant. Increase heat of the wok; be careful not to burn your garlic. Quickly put in the French Beans and fry until you see there is a change in the green colour (from light green to a darker shade). Add a little water and salt to taste. Serve with steamed rice and other Chinese vegetarian dishes.

Romaine Lettuce and Bell Pepper with Cheese and Orange Juice Dressing – Vegetarian

I love the crunchiness of the bell peppers (capsicum) and Romaine lettuce salad. I decided to use orange juice as one of the ingredients for my salad dressing instead of the usual lemon juice.
Mozzarella cheese added a little body to my salad mix. I used minced garlic for this recipe, so if you don’t take garlic you can actually exclude it.

Ingredients
Romaine Lettuce, 3 bunches, washed and cleaned
Bell pepper (capsicum), 1 pc, cut into thick strips

For Salad Dressing
Extra virgin olive oil, 5 table spoons
Garlic, 1 pc, chopped finely (optional)
Mozzarella Cheese, 2”x2”x2” block, break into small pieces
Salt, a dash or to taste
Orange juice, ½ orange
Pepper, a dash

Mix all the salad vegetables with the dressing. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Great for roast chicken side dish!

Vegetarian Avocado with Sweetened Condensed Milk Dessert

The Avocado (Scientific name, Persea Americana) is a native of South and Central America. It was also originally found in the Carribean. Sometimes avocado is also known as Aligator or butter pear. Some of avocado extract can be used as antibacterial chemical.
Apart from being a little creamy, the avocado is rather tasteless. I made this easy and simple avocado with sweetened condensed milk dessert. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
Avocado, 1 pc
Sweetened Condensed milk. 2 table spoons
A little brown sugar

Cut avocado into halves and remove the hard seed. Use a spoon to scrape the flesh out. Put the thin avocado strips into a mixing bowl, add the sweetened condensed milk and brown sugar. Mix well and serve chilled.

Stir Fried Bell Pepper with Preserved Bean Paste, Chinese Style (Vegetarian)

Bell peppers or capsicums which are available in many colors are normally used to brighten up a dish. They are available in red, orange, green and yellow. The name ‘pepper’ was mistakenly given by Christopher Columbus when he brought it back to Europe from one of his voyage. He must have thought it to be the fruit of the highly prized during his era, the peppercorns. In order to taste the natural sweetness of bell pepper, I just stir fry it with preserved soya beans. This simple dish is very tasty and goes down well with steamed rice.

Ingredients
Bell Peppers, 2 pcs, cut into small pieces
Preserved Bean Paste (Tauchu), 1 table spoon
Garlic, 5 pcs, chopped finely
Vegetable oil, 1 table spoon

Heat up wok; put the vegetable oil and sautéed the garlic until fragrant. Put in the preserved bean paste. Stir fry for a while. Add in the bell peppers and a little water.

Simple Recipe – Vegan Soya Sauce Potato - Halal

Simple and delicious

I think you must have heard before that potatoes with eyes (sprouts) are poisonous as it contains Solanine (very toxic even in small quantities). Anyway, you just have to remove these sprouts. Better throw away the potato if it has turned bad, green underneath the skin and has too many sprouts. Although some research has shown that you have to eat at least a whole bag of potatoes to actually be poisoned but it is better to practice some caution. Better be safe than sorry!
There are many ways to cook potatoes. One of my favorite is soya sauce potato.

Ingredients
2 potatoes, skinned and cut into slices
3 shallots, skinned and cut into slices
2 table spoons of light soya sauce
½ teaspoon of dark soya sauce
Salt to taste

Deep fry the potatoes in hot oil until it turn brown. Take out the potatoes and put aside.
Leave around 2 table spoon of oil in the wok. Put in the shallots and sautéed until crispy. Add in the potatoes, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce and salt to taste.